1. Field of the Invention The invention pertains to sports garments having shock absorbing pads wherein the pad will automatically conform to the garment and body configuration and effectively protect the desired body area.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sports garments commonly worn by athletes while playing games, such as pants, shirts, and the like, often incorporate protective shock absorbing pads into the garment. The pads may be built into the garment directly, or the garment may be provided with a plurality of pockets in which the pads are located. The pads may be formed of fabric, rubber, or similar material, and closed cell foam is now commonly used as a protective pad in many sports garments. Typical sports garments of the protective type are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,483,299; 1,598,133; 4,894,867; 4,987,613 and 5,134,726.
Commonly, the protective pad may be sewn at its periphery to the garment, or to a pocket sewn to the garment. Such peripheral attachment of the pad to the garment will place high stresses upon the pad during certain activities such as excessive stretching, sliding into a baseball base, and the like. If the protective pad is merely inserted into the pocket having a configuration similar to that of the pocket without the pad being sewn or otherwise attached to the pocket or the garment, itself, the pad often has a tendency to wad and fold up within the pocket as the pocket and pad are subjected to the movement and stresses imposed on the garment during sport activities. Of course, such wadding of the pad reduces its efficiency, and produces an unsightly bulge as well as causing discomfort to the wearer.